bradcleveladev - Brad Cleveland

Developing – or Reconsidering – Your Service Strategy

May 14, 2020 | Call Center, Contact Center, Customer Access Strategy, Customer Service, Leadership

In these unprecedented times, you may find yourself rethinking your organization’s strategy for serving your customers. Strategy is the bridge between your organization’s vision and mission and the specific decisions required to make them a reality. This...

What to Say to Angry Customers

May 6, 2020 | Call Center, Contact Center, Customer Experience, Customer Relationships, Customer Service

With the current crisis, contact center representatives are grappling with heightened workloads and anxious customers. It takes practice to find ways to ensure your impact is as positive and helpful as possible. Remember that you’re doing important work. It’s hard...

Controlling Contact Center Costs the Right Way

Apr 30, 2020 | Call Center, Contact Center, Leadership

With the current economic challenges, many organizations are likely looking for ways to control costs as they serve customers. Done right, these efforts can succeed. But the wrong approach can backfire and result in new and/or hidden costs, frustrated employees and...

“Press 1 for Frustration” Article

Apr 22, 2020 | Call Center, Contact Center, Customer Access Strategy, Customer Experience, Customer Relationships, Customer Service, Leadership

This article from Heather Kelly at The Washington Post is a great behind-the-scenes look at the challenges of reaching customer service when call volumes are high and wait times are long. I was honored to be a resource for the article—and I’m thankful for the heroic...

How Long Are Customers Willing to Wait?

Apr 15, 2020 | Call Center, Contact Center, Customer Access Strategy, Customer Service, Workforce Management

With much of the world on lockdown due to the current COVID-19 crisis, contact centers are grappling with both increased workloads and staffing challenges. One helpful framework — now and in more normal times — is to understand the factors that affect customer...